A forest of crosses rise from the Lithuanian plane: wood, iron, plastic crucifixes all stacked upon each other, rosaries clinking like wind-chimes in the breeze. From the path it looks like a massive thicket, but as you wander, it becomes an endless maze. Tiny crosses wired to larger ones, statues in the gaps, no two facing the same way. It does not feel like a graveyard, yet it leaves a haunting impression.
The hill is dated to the aftermath of the 1831 &1863 uprisings against Russian rule. Crosses for the dead who could not be named in town. Under the Soviets the hill was bulldozed more than once; yet the crosses came back at night.
Estimates run from a hundred thousand crosses, to almost twice that amount – as they just keep coming. It is a memorial and art project all at once; and standing between the aisles, it can feel like a location only a dream (or nightmare) could render.
Photo credits: Tripadvisor, “2011_0824_Siauliai_43” by Peter Collins, CC BY-SA 2.0 , “Hill of Crosses” by Dan, CC BY-SA 2.0 , “2011_0824_Siauliai_55” by Peter Collins, CC BY-SA 2.0
